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The author points out that Article 48A of the Constitution of India provides that ‘the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country’. Thus there is a provision in our Constitution for the protection and improvement of the environment as well as to safeguard the forests and wildlife of our country. But these are not followed strictly. That is why the author says that laws are never respected nor enforced in our country.
The author cites examples to prove his point. As per our Constitution, casteism, untouchability and bonded labour shall be abolished. But even after more than forty-four years of the operation of the Constitution, these social evils are prospering and flourishing in a shameless manner. A recent report of our Parliament’s Estimates Committee has highlighted the near ‘catastrophic depletion’ of India’s forests over the last four decades.
It is reliably estimated that India is losing its forests at the rate of 3.7 million acres a year. Large areas, officially designated as forest land, ‘are already virtually treeless’. The worst part is that the actual loss of forests is estimated to be about eight times the rate indicated by government statistics. This itself shows that in India laws are neither respected nor properly enforced in India.